Life/Home/Writing

I started this blog before I got pregnant. After I got pregnant I didn't know what to write about, I didn't think I wanted this to become a "Mommy" blog. I wanted to write about "deep" topics, not diaper changes. Then we got this house and all the work that needed to be done and family that asked about the progress made it simple. Now the house is down to the detail work, the things you do on an odd weekend, the finishing touches that rarely are as dramatic as a before and after shot of what a room looked like with orange carpet and walls that hadn't been painted in nearly 50 years. The truth is that now my day often involves me saying "No, we don't eat the trashcan, Jack" or "Did you seriously just poop again?"

And that is the one of the most beautiful experiences in my life. One I get to have every single day. It is also one that I can't ever avoid, put off, or get lazy about. Motherhood is as much a part of my life as breathing. And that is exactly how it should be.

The point to this is, I don't have that many remodeling posts left, and I want to get back to writing. My life, and what it consists of in the here and now is what I will be writing about. That's a lot of baby stuff. There will be other things as well, but interwoven will always be my son.

Julie

Turning a House Into a Home: Kitchen Before and After Shots

Time for one of my favorite things, Before and After shots. Let's just get right to the pictures today.

 This is what the kitchen looked like a year ago when we bought the house...

Just Because...

It is actually chilly this evening. I wore a jacket on my walk even though the sunflowers haven't even bloomed yet. This year the weather I fell in love with has come back to New Mexico. The heat and drought have begun to fade away.

It's back to school, a week and half in and already falling into a nice rhythm. Blair's home at the same time every night, since he is taking the shuttle to and from college. It's made a nice little routine for Jack. Mommy in the morning and Daddy in the evening. I plan on taking some shots of Daddy & Jack time once I figure out the lighting better. It's certainly something I'll always want to remember.

The barn swallows are still here, however, on their third hatching. They are always welcome to build nests on my back porch, they each eat around 1,000 mosquitoes a day! (And that is a Googled fact.)

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my (rain)bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:12-13

We had a beautiful, full rainbow over our house the other day. I would have loved to have been just a bit higher, so I could have gotten a shot since it touched on each end. The blessings of living in a state where it frequently rains when the sun is shining! 

Tomorrow I'll have a catch-up update on the kitchen, with before and after pictures - one of my favorite things! In the meantime... baby tip-toes. <3

Little Moments: County Fair

 

I love living in small towns. Being able to walk a mile up a dirt road and be at the County Fair is pretty cool in my book. Blair has never been to any kind of fair. We'll also be heading to the State Fair next month so he can be fully immersed in the fair world. Sadly it was too bright out for me too see that my camera was on the wrong settings, so I didn't get clear pictures - but the two at the end make for that! And lesson learned, check the settings before heading out!

Another great thing about my life? Picture opportunities like this happen all the time:

 A very nice lady gave Jack a balloon

The corn pit was approached with caution

Tractor racing for kids

You have to weigh in your rabbits 

I love canning

It's all in the Details: Jewelry Storage part one

Today I feel like pretty things, so we are taking a break from the house to share a little project I did to get my jewelry organized that I'm pretty excited about. Inspired by this awesome idea I saw on Pinterest (of course).

I was determined to use stuff I had, and not spend any money. I used wedges we used to put in the floor for the blocks, and left over pieces of wood from various projects around the house for the bars, and found two metal bars in the garage that had been there when we moved in. Mod-podge and scrapbook paper took care of the rest. 

Back - yet again!

I stepped on my laptop because I thought putting on the floor by the bed was a great idea after nursing Jack. The screen was destroyed, of course.

We've finally got enough unpacked that I am down to about 6 boxes to go through. Although, as with all things moving, every time I think I am done, I find another box to be sorted through. Another storage problem to figure out. I am so very grateful to have this house and to know we won't be moving again for a long while!

Now Blair's desktop is set up and connected to the internet so I can get back to blogging - although first I had to remember my email and password :/ No pictures of the house today, just a quick note to say, yet again - I'm back! For your troubles here is some 9 month old adorableness!

Turning a House Into a Home (Part 9)

About 3 years before we bought this house, a huge dust devil came rampaging through the neighborhood (New Mexico's version of tornadoes) and tore the carport roof off and flung it up onto the house roof, leaving just the posts outlining the cement pad. Later another dust devil flung the carport roof into the front yard. 

Despite this, only a few shingles were damages and there are (surprisingly) no leaks. Still, the roof needed replacing. Oh, wait I forgot to mention the giant hail storm that hit Belen 4ish years ago. My parents got a new roof after that. It is metal and more energy efficient. Which is why we decided to put up a metal roof on this house as well. 

We went back and forth between a red or green roof, before picking the sage green.

 

At some point, a new carport roof will be built and all the brown trim and garage door will be painted a hunter green. Also the two solar panels peeking over the back have been taken down. We only got the front of the house done before baby and a long cold snap. 

In case you were wondering how you put on a sheet metal roof...

First you have to get each piece up on the roof

Then you have to line up the edge with the top and bottom of the roof, and no roof is perfectly angled.

Then someone (Blair) has to hold the piece in place while Dad  put in screws and  Mom made sure it stayed even.

Once the first piece is on, it goes much faster

The key is to use the right screws for attaching the metal to the roof and the sections to each other. The wrong screws were used on the first piece and when the spring winds hit I heard a banging. The roof was blowing off! I have no pictures because Mom, Blair and I were all making sure it got screwed back down. With the right screws this time. 

It's been to windy to finish the back side of the house, you don't want to be holding a flat piece of metal in strong winds, it would pull you right off the roof like a parachute. Soon though, we hope to get it finished before it gets hot. Roofing in the summer sucks. 

Turning a House Into a Home (Part 8)

I skimmed through my last couple of posts about the house last night to see what needed to be caught up - and I was surprised with how much has gotten done while we've been on break! At least this post and the next will be playing catch up.

We had a last burst of energy, right before Jack was born, looking at all the pictures we got a lot done the week before!

We got all the doors painted and hung on the bathroom, our room and Jack's room. We still need to spray paint the handles silver or replace them, but that is far down the list.

Remember the giant hole in the living room floor?

This one?

Blair and dad mixed up bags and bags of concrete, Mom ran to the store for more.

Mixing concrete is heavy, hard work. Blair and Dad still complain about the mountain in the floor, even after all the work they did. Still it is a lot better. I don't have much more to say, There isn't much more to say. That little bit took several hours of work and 10 bags of cement!